U.S. House Sends A Simple Message To Mary Landrieu, Senate Democrats – “No Budget, No Pay”

WASHINGTON — For almost four years, Louisiana’s senior Senator Mary Landrieu and her fellow Democrats who run the Senate have refused to address the most basic responsibility of governing by passing a federal budget.  Over this same time, the federal debt has skyrocketed past $16 trillion, with an additional $5.3 trillion in new debt and over $13 trillion in new government spending.

To that end, the Republican-led House today passed the No Budget, No Pay Act (H.R. 325) which sends a very simple message to Senate Democrats – if you don’t do your job and pass a budget, you don’t get paid.  This bill now moves to the Senate where it awaits action by the Democrats.

“Every Louisiana family and small business owner understands you can’t spend money that you don’t have, but that message has been lost on Senator Landrieu over the last 17 years she’s been in Washington,” National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Brian Walsh said today.   “Senator Landrieu and her fellow Democrats have shirked their most basic responsibilities and maxed out the government credit card to the tune of trillions and trillions in new debt.”

“It’s regrettable that it takes an act of Congress to force Senator Landrieu to simply do her job, but the voters of Louisiana have an opportunity to send her an even stronger message in next year’s election,” Walsh concluded.

BACKGROUND….

The last time Senator Landrieu and her fellow Democrats passed a budget was on April 29, 2009.   Speaker Boehner’s office earlier this week released a new graphic showing just some of the things that could have be done in a similar four-year span.   For example:

• The Keystone XL energy project would create thousands of jobs – and you could construct the whole thing, all 1,179 miles of it … twice (if the president stopped blocking it, of course).

• Need a vacation? How about a cross-country trip from Key West, FL to Seattle, WA? You could make the drive 684 times, even if you stop at a few ATMs along the way.

• Can’t comprehend the magnitude of our $16 trillion debt or how spending is the “driving force” behind it? You could earn a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Chicago in less time than it’s taken Senate Democrats to pass a budget.

• It took 491 days from September 1941 to January 1943 to construct the Pentagon – the largest office building in the world – from start to finish. You could build three of them.

• If you follow the same plan as the crew of Apollo 11, you could fly to the moon and back 179 times.

• The United States declared war and led the Allies to victory over the Axis powers in less time than it’s taken Senate Democrats to pass a budget.

• Car trips not your thing? How about a balloon ride? You could float across the globe nonstop in a hot-air balloon approximately 73 times.

• If you’re in peak physical (superhuman) condition, you could make “the five day summit push” up Mt. Everest 292 times.